Fluidic shunts are commonly employed for the diversion of cerebrospinal fluid from the cranial intraventricular space to a terminus such as the peritoneal cavity in the treatment of hydrocephalus. The quantity of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) diverted by the shunt may be altered by adjusting the opening pressure of a normally closed integral valve. Several valve designs (e.g. Codman-Hakim® valve, Medtronic Strata® valve) allow transcutaneous adjustment, or programmability, of the opening pressure via a transcutaneously applied magnetic field.
The programmed valve pressure is dependent upon the position of the external programmer relative to the implanted valve. Because the valve is implanted beneath the skin, the exact orientation of the valve is not always apparent. Malpositioning of the programmer can introduce errors into the programming process and result in erroneous pressures being programmed. Therefore, it is desirable to be able to confirm the actual programmed pressure after reprogramming or as clinical conditions warrant. By “actual” programmed pressure is meant the de facto pressure which has been set for opening of the valve as opposed to the pressure which may be assumed to have been set as a result of the operator's manual adjustment.
While the Medtronic Strata® valve provides a transcutaneous means of magnetically indicating the valve pressure setting, the Codman-Hakim valve requires the use of an x-ray to determine the valve setting. The use of x-ray to determine valve pressure is undesirable as it is costly, time-consuming, and exposes the patient to ionizing radiation.